Composite building materials, such as composite decking, are now popular in outdoor living areas for many families. You might want to build a composite decking in your own backyard. But do you truly understand composite decking pros and cons? If you’re looking to make a well-informed decision and avoid simply following the crowd, you should not miss out on this article.
As you embark on the search for the finest material for your new deck, you’re bound to stumble upon the numerous advantages that composite decking holds over traditional wood. Besides being a hassle-free option, Feelingwood’s composite decking boasts vibrantly colored boards with an authentic wooden facade, providing you with the desired natural aesthetic while ensuring effortless maintenance and long-term cost savings.
What Is Composite Decking?
Composite decking, full name as wood plastic composite decking, or called WPC decking, is a type of decking material made from a blend of recycled wood fibers, plastics, and binding agents. This mixture results in a durable, low-maintenance decking option that offers the natural look of wood with added benefits such as resistance to rot, insects, and fading. Composite decking is gaining popular for outdoor use due to its longevity, versatility, and sustainability in recent years.
What Are the Composite Decking Pros?
Composite deck boards blend the natural aesthetics of wood with the durability of plastic, ensuring resistance to moisture, weathering, and fading. This results in an outdoor oasis that requires minimal maintenance and remains resilient for many years. With composite decking, you can enjoy a beautiful and long-lasting outdoor space without the worry of frequent upkeep.
Traditional Wood
Even preservative-treated timber doesn’t hold up like composite decking’s engineered capping and will rot or splinter over time.
Feelingwood Decking
Feelingwood composite deck boards feature a cap made of high-performance materials and innovative technology, making them resistant to moisture, weathering, and fading.
1. More Durable, Stronger and Longer-Lasting than Wood
The most notably feature of composite decking is it high durability. Traditional wood decks require replacement every 10 to 15 years even with a lot of maintenance. However, composite decking boards offer superior durability at least 20 years. By infusing the strength of plastic material, they withstand the elements while preserving their appearance and structure. For example, Feelingwood composite deck boards come with a warranty of up to 25 years and resist cracking, fading, splitting, or warping, unlike traditional timber decking.
2. Require Less Maintenance Than Wood
One of the significant advantages of composite decking lies in its significantly reduced maintenance requirements compared to traditional wood decks. Wood decks typically need extensive maintenance tasks like painting and sealing every 1 to 3 years, which can be both labor-intensive and costly. Moreover, they require regular power-washing and staining to maintain their color.
On the contrary, composite decking boards are much easier to maintain, thereby saving you time, effort, and overall costs. A Feelingwood deck, for instance, never requires sanding, staining, or sealing to preserve its vibrant color or withstand weathering agents. To remove dirt, dust, or pollen, a Feelingwood deck only needs spot treatment or a thorough cleaning with soap and water.
3. As Beautiful as Real Wood
Using composite deck boards can often raise concerns about an unnatural, artificial look or feel. However, with the significant advancements in WPC technology and the increasing focus on achieving a realistic look, modern composite decking has evolved to closely resemble the natural beauty of real wood. While there may be subtle differences in appearance compared to traditional wood decking, these differences are not only negligible but often seen as enhancing its beauty. In fact, some even prefer the look of composite decking, finding it more appealing than traditional wood decks.
For instance, Feelingwood decking is crafted with exceptional attention to detail. Moreover, With Feelingwood decking, you can customize your deck to perfectly complement your outdoor space.
Realistic Grain Patterns
Features realistic grain patterns that capture the textured look of real wood.
Authentic Color Blending
Replicates the subtle variations in hue that are synonymous with real wood.
4. Longer-Lasting Beauty than Wood
Wood decks require a lot of maintenance that can not only exhaust your energy, but also your finances. In as little as six months, the original luster of wood boards can fade due to exposure to UV rays, precipitation, and other weathering agents. By contrast, composite deck boards are designed to stay beautiful long after their original installation. For example, Feelingwood composite deck boards are built to look and stay beautiful year-round with minimal maintenance, so you can enjoy an inviting, color-rich deck that is as beautiful as it was the day it was built.
5. More Cost-Efficient than Wood in the Long Run
While a traditional wood deck may initially appear cheaper than a composite deck, the long-term benefits of composite decking often outweigh the upfront cost. Consider the expenses associated with maintaining, recoloring, restaining, and repairing a wood deck, and it becomes clear that a composite deck offers significant long-term savings. In fact, within a few years, the cost of a composite deck can be fully offset by its minimal maintenance requirements and sustained rich color, making it a more cost-effective choice overall.
6. More Sustainable than Wood
For decades, a wooden deck was the sole option for those seeking an outdoor escape. This resulted in the loss of millions of trees across the country, solely for the production and maintenance of these decks. However, the emergence of composite decking has significantly reduced the demand for real wood. Furthermore, composite decking contributes to the reduction of plastic pollution. By opting for boards crafted from recycled materials, you not only refrain from contributing to harmful deforestation and plastic pollution but also support a more environmentally friendly future.
7. Safer than Wood
Safer than Wood Composite decking materials are not only more durable but also safer than traditional wood decking. Since composites are less prone to warping or splintering, they pose a significantly lower risk of accidents and injuries, making them a safer choice for your family. Moreover, high-quality composite decking often incorporates slip-proof features, further enhancing its safety features and ensuring a secure outdoor space for your loved ones.
8. More Customizable than Wood
WPC offers significantly more customized options than traditional wood. Not only does it possess the natural beauty and texture of wood, but it also allows for an immense range of color choices that can be tailored to individual preferences. This unparalleled versatility ensures that WPC decking can seamlessly blend into a diverse array of decorative styles, making it an ideal choice for any outdoor space.
What Are the Composite Decking Cons?
Composite decking materials, while offering many benefits, also have some disadvantages.
1. More Susceptible to Expansion and Contraction than Wood
One of the main concerns with WPC decking is that they are more susceptible to expansion and contraction in areas with hot summers and cold winters. As the temperature rises, the decking boards expand, and as it drops, they contract. This can lead to gaps between boards, warping, and even buckling in extreme cases. Over time, these temperature-related movements can compromise the structural integrity of the deck and reduce its lifespan. The good news is that many decking manufacturers have optimized their formula and added more stabilizers. But you have to consider this factor especially in climates with severe seasonal temperature changes.
2. Higher Up-Front Cost than Wood
Compared to traditional wood decking, composite decking materials tend to be more expensive. This higher price is due to the manufacturing process, which involves combining various materials like wood fibers, plastic, and chemical agents. While composite decking’s durability and low-maintenance requirements can offset this higher initial cost over time, it can still be a significant factor for homeowners on a budget. It is important to carefully weigh the long-term benefits and costs of composite decking before making a final decision.
3. Heat Up More than Wood
Another disadvantage of composite decking is its tendency to heat up more than wood under direct sunlight. This is due to the synthetic materials used in its construction, which absorb and retain heat more efficiently than natural wood. On hot summer days, composite decking can become uncomfortably hot, making it unpleasant to walk on barefoot. This can be a particular concern for families with small children or pets who spend a lot of time outdoors. To help keep the decking cooler, you can install shading devices or choose composite decking with a lighter color.
4. More Time and Effort to Install than Wood
Composite decking requires more time and effort to install compared to wood due to its higher hardness and strength, but lower resilience. Pre-drilling is necessary to prevent damaging the decking boards, adding to the installation time. However, most manufacturers have developed hidden fasteners that allow for installation from the grooves on both sides, significantly aiding in the installation process.
Build Your Next Deck With Feelingwood
There are many benefits to choosing composite decking for your next home build. Feelingwood composite decking pays for itself with easy & fast-installation minimal maintenance, lasting durability, and sustainable impacts. Experience our fast-installation system and find the right one for your home when you order free samples and connect with a contractor to bring your yard to life.
Feelingwood Goes Above the Competition
✓ Fastest deck installation system
✓ 3D co-extrusion technology
✓ Nature-inspired color and textures
✓ Industry-leading warranties
